by Jasmine Banks and April Doner, Nonprofit Quarterly
“As goes the South, so goes the nation.” This maxim may not yet be standard among political analysts, but its truth is undeniable. Nowhere is this more evident than in Atlanta, a city steeped in both radical history and corporate reinvention.
Beyond the familiar narratives of a “Black Mecca” or a Democratic stronghold, Atlanta is a battleground where grassroots movements, labor struggles, and corporate influence collide. The city holds a strategic position, not just geographically but in the broader political landscape of the South, where movements for economic justice, racial equity, and abolitionist futures take shape and fight for survival.
As the present contradictions of racial capitalismsharpen and the cracks of neoliberal solutions give way to reveal the facade of racial progress, communities are searching for solutions transcending business-as-usual identity-based social justice driven by national nonprofits. There are unique lessons in Atlanta about sustaining movements beyond philanthropic support. The urgency of the moment demands that we learn lessons from the past and embrace radical solutions…
Atlanta occupies a unique position in the South, both as a site of historical Black economic and political power and as a contested space for social movements…
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